Marking 30 years since the Nigerian government’s brutal execution of nine leading environmental activists – the Ogoni Nine – for fighting to protect the Niger Delta from oil giant Shell, Amnesty International is calling for their full exoneration. The anniversary coincides with the start of the UN climate talks (COP 30) in Brazil.
The Ogoni Nine’s protests in 1995 brought global attention to the devastating cost of the fossil fuel industry on the climate, people’s lives, the environment, and continued poverty in oil producing areas.
In June 2025, the Nigerian government pardoned the Ogoni Nine. While Amnesty International welcomed the news, it fell short of the justice the Ogoni Nine and their families deserve.
“The Ogoni Nine, led by Nigeria’s leading author and campaigner Ken Saro-Wiwa, were brutally executed in 1995 by a regime that wanted to hide the crimes of Shell and other oil companies. These companies were destroying – and continue to destroy – the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands of people across the Niger Delta as a result of their devastating oil spills and leaks,” said Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International’s Nigeria Country Director.
“While their pardon was a step forward, the Ogoni Nine deserve full exoneration. These men were executed for a crime they did not commit. Their friends and family have been through enough and they deserve justice.”
Esther Kiobel, the wife of Dr Barinem Kiobel, a former government official who was one of the Ogoni Nine, hasspent 30 years battling the huge oil conglomerate in and out of court and won’t stop until her husband’s name is cleared.
“My husband was killed like a criminal and all I wanted was for his name to be exonerated – it’s what I still want. My father used to tell me: ‘A good name is better than gold or silver.’ That is what gave me the strength to fight.”
A brutal campaign
The executions were the culmination of a brutal campaign by Nigeria’s military government to silence the protests of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) who, under Ken Saro-Wiwa’s leadership, had campaigned against continued pollution from oil spills and gas flaring.
“Extensive reporting from Amnesty International concluded that oil company Shell knowingly provided encouragement and motivation to the military authorities to stop the MOSOP protests, even after the authorities repeatedly committed human rights violations in Ogoniland and specifically targeted Ken Saro-Wiwa and MOSOP,” said Isa Sanusi.
In 2018, Amnesty International shared its reporting with the International Crimes Unit of the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service to evaluate whether Shell bore criminal responsibility for its involvement in the military crackdown on the MOSOP demonstrations.
The Dutch authorities determined, according to a private letter addressed to Amnesty International, that “a large-scale raid on 43 Ogoni villages and Giokoo” by the Nigerian military, which led to numerous killings, followed Shell’s request for assistance in securing its operations in March 1994, which Shell “knew or should have known” would lead to disproportionate force.
According to this letter, Dutch law enforcement declined to open a criminal investigation into Shell’s responsibility because they lacked “enough evidence that Shell intended to have the demonstrators killed by the various Nigerian troops” and believed that they had no “realistic” prospect of collecting such evidence.
However, according to Amnesty International, the evidence established sufficient grounds for Dutch authorities to investigate Shell’s criminal responsibility.
Devastating effects still felt today
The effects of the Ogoni Nine’s executions are still felt across local communities today.
For 60 years Shell and other oil companies have been responsible for oil spills and leaks due to poorly maintained pipelines, wells and inadequate clean-up attempts that have ravaged the health and livelihoods of many of the 30 million people living in the Niger Delta – most of whom live in poverty. The oil spills have caused permanent damage to farmlands, waterways, and drinking water – affecting people’s health and leaving communities unable to farm or fish.
“The execution of these activists has given the Nigerian government and oil companies, including Shell, licence to crack down on protests and intimidate people in the Niger Delta who have been demanding justice and an end to their toxic pollution,” said Isa Sanusi.
However, the Ogale and Bille communities affected by the oil spills refuse to be silenced. This year saw them take Shell to the UK’s Royal Courts of Justice to demand the oil giant clean up the oil spills that have wrecked their livelihoods, health and caused widespread devastation to the local environment. Their case is scheduled to be heard in March 2027.
All eyes on fossil fuels
With the start of COP 30, the world’s attention is set to turn to the devastating effects of fossil fuels, as Amnesty International calls for states to commit to a full, fast, fair and funded fossil-fuel phase-out and just transition to sustainable energy for all.
“With major oil spills yet to be cleaned up, the story of the Ogoni Nine has never been more pertinent. Their fight continues and their memories will never be forgotten, as will the plight of many other activists who continue to defend the environment,” said Isa Sanusi.
“As we mark the 30th anniversary of these executions, we hope local communities in Nigeria will be given the space, time and dignity to hold remembrance events for the Ogoni Nine free of harassment from the authorities.”
On 12 November, Amnesty International will release Extraction Extinction: Why the life cycle of fossil fuels threatens life, nature, and human rights, a new report on environmental human rights defenders which includes a dedication to the Ogoni Nine and a full case study on oil pollution in the Niger Delta.
Amnesty International is calling for Shell to conduct meaningful consultation with affected communities about its plans for disengagement. Irrespective of any divestment of operations and as part of this consultation, Shell must also propose a full remediation plan including details of all completed and ongoing clean-ups across its areas of operation, as well as adequate compensation for the severe and sustained harm affected communities have faced as a result of Shell’s operations in the Niger Delta. All these plans and processes should be in line with international human rights law and standards.
BACKGROUND
The Ogoni Nine, led by environmental activist and writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, included Barinem Kiobel, John Kpuinen, Baribor Bera, Felix Nuate, Paul Levula, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo and Daniel Gbokoo. They were executed after a blatantly unfair trial on 10 November 1995. Wrongly accused of involvement in murder, the men had in fact been put on trial because they challenged the devastating impact of oil production by Shell in the Ogoniland region of the Niger Delta.
Amnesty International has published numerous reports, documenting the detrimental impact Shell’s operations are having on Nigerian communities.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amnesty International.
